Gingrich Steps Away From Ryan Budget

Former House Speaker Newt Gingrich is distancing himself from the House-passed budget plan that would end fee-for-service Medicare in favor of private insurance plans for seniors partially subsidized by the federal government.

In a post on his Facebook page Wednesday, Mr. Gingrich – a likely presidential candidate – instead embraced a voluntary plan that would give seniors the option to choose private plans without explicitly abolishing Medicare as we know it. That is in line with a Medicare proposal by former Democratic Congressional Budget Office director Alice Rivlin and former Republican Sen. Pete Domenici, once embraced, then rejected by House Budget Committee Chairman Paul Ryan.

“One option is for Congress to move towards a 21st Century personal Medicare system that would allow seniors to choose, on a voluntary basis, a more personal system with greater options for better care,” Mr. Gingrich wrote.

Like other presidential hopefuls, Mr. Gingrich is praising Mr. Ryan’s bravery without embracing his proposals. Under the Ryan plan, people under 55 years old would no longer have access to traditional Medicare upon retirement. Instead, they would have to choose from plans offered by private insurers, with federal help paying the premiums. Rather than addressing the proposal, Mr. Gingrich chooses to contrast it with President Barack Obama’s Medicare overhaul, which doesn’t really exist.

“On entitlement reforms, Paul Ryan has offer his ‘Path to Prosperity’ budget plan which stands in stark contrast to the 2012 budget proposed by the White House earlier this year. Unlike Ryan’s plan, President Obama’s budget proposal ignored entitlement spending, which encompasses the largest share of the federal budget. Doing nothing to address the structural gaps in entitlement spending is no longer an option,” Mr. Gingrich wrote.

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